Addressing a motion to proceed under section 3101A of title 31, United States Code.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I want to thank my colleague for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I rise today in opposition to the rule and the bill.

Mr. Speaker, what exactly are we doing here? We could be talking about creating jobs for the middle class. We could be talking about a payroll tax cut extension. We could be talking about corporate tax reform, individual tax reform, and most importantly, we could be talking about solving the national deficit, about reducing government spending, about solving the deficit issue.

But, instead, we're here playing this game of Kabuki theater. Rather than pursuing an agenda that isn't a Democratic or Republican agenda, but an American agenda that both sides all can agree on, we're here playing a counterproductive and absurd game. In fact, not only playing a game, we're replaying a game.

We all remember the debt debacle last August that almost shut down Federal Government and led to a downgrade, potentially increasing interest rates and costing the government billions or hundreds of billions of dollars more in interest payments. For the first time in history, Standard & Poor's downgraded our country's credit rating, citing brinksmanship and political gridlock as motivating factors for their decision.

Look, this is all Monday night quarterbacking. It's after the fact. The money has been spent. The money has been spent, and 147 Republicans voted in December to spend $915 billion in the appropriations bill, the omnibus appropriations bill, 147 Republicans, $915 billion, all of which was deficit spending. One hundred forty-seven Republicans spent $915 billion in deficit spending December 17th. That's a Christmas shopping spree, and now the credit card bill has come in January, and here they are saying we don't want to pay that credit card bill.

The answer, Mr. Speaker, is not to spend the money if you're not going to make good on your bill. Every American family knows that. Once the money's spent it's after-the-fact political finger pointing, not looking to a solution for a deficit problem.

And the Republicans have not put a solution on the table. Even the House Republican budget, the Paul Ryan budget that ends Medicare, creates $5.1 trillion in deficit spending over the next 10 years, $5.1 trillion in deficit spending. How many times will the Republicans have to raise the debt limit to have a deficit of $5.1 trillion?

This Congress and the majority of this Congress on the Republican side are addicted to spending, Mr. Speaker, and until they are willing to entertain a real discussion--and the President of the United States, President Obama, has led the way by convening a commission, the Bowles- Simpson Commission, to try to take a bipartisan approach to actually solving the deficit situation. But rather than bringing any of those bills before the House, the Republicans passed the budget that not only ends Medicare but leads to $5.1 trillion in deficit spending and as recently as December 17th, spent $915 billion of deficit spending, the entire deficit for this year, essentially, around December 17th, because we had already spent the money that actually came in. And here they are in January, Mr. Speaker, saying they don't want to pay the bills.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Will the gentleman yield?

I yield myself 30 seconds.

Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from South Carolina complained about the President's budget, he complained about a lack of budget in the Senate. What he failed to acknowledge is that the budget the Republicans adopted in this body without a single Democratic vote not only ends Medicare, but leads to $5.1 trillion in deficit spending over the next 10 years, several times the deficit over the last 10 years; $5.1 trillion, a larger deficit spending than this country has ever had in a 10-year period, was supported and voted on and enacted by the Republicans in this House.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Andrews).

(Mr. ANDREWS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Before further yielding, I yield myself a minute.

Mr. Speaker, to hear the other side, they doth protest too much. Why does a party for whom 147 Members voted to spend $915 billion, causing the deficit, which is roughly a trillion dollars in size, essentially that $915 billion that they spent on their Christmas spending spree was the deficit, now they're complaining about it?

And since the gentleman from South Carolina wasn't kind enough to yield to me, I'd like to ask him on my own time, the gentleman referred to whether or not ending Medicare was true, and obviously there's been a vital discussion about that, but the other assertion that I made is a very factual one, and I just want to confirm with the gentleman that the Paul Ryan Republican budget that the Republicans passed did indeed contain $5.1 trillion of deficit spending. Is that your understanding as well? Is that true?

I yield to the gentleman from South Carolina for an answer.

I yield myself an additional 30 seconds.

The 10-year figure for that deficit from the CBO itself, $5.1 trillion in deficit spending. And again, the same Republicans who spend $915 billion here in December are again saying now that the credit card bill has come due, they somehow don't want to pay it.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

I yield the gentlewoman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 30 seconds before further yielding.

Every Republican that has spoken on this issue voted for a budget that included $5.1 trillion in deficit spending over a decade, more deficit spending than any 10-year period in the history of our country. They also, as part of that budget, voted for raising the debt ceiling by $8.8 trillion. They voted to do it, Mr. Speaker. They voted to raise the debt ceiling from $14.3 trillion to $23.1 trillion by 2021. Yes, Mr. Speaker, every Republican in this body, except for four, and zero Democrats, voted to double the national debt over the next 10 years.

I'm proud to yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Connolly).

Again, the Republicans doth protest too much. If there is concern about the budget deficit, why did every Republican who has spoken here today--every Republican except for four--vote to double our national debt over the next 10 years? Why has every Republican here voted for a budget that included $5.1 trillion in deficit spending, more deficit spending than this country has ever had in a 10-year period?

I certainly hear complaints about President Obama and others. The President can't spend a penny--a penny--without congressional approval. So if the Republicans are concerned about the budget, why did they go on a Christmas spending spree where 147 Republicans voted to spend over $900 billion, every penny of it deficit spending? This makes no sense, Mr. Speaker.

Let's address this budget deficit, as President Obama has charged us to do with the Bowles-Simpson Commission. Let's undertake a bipartisan approach to solve the deficit. This Nation shouldn't have a $5.1 trillion deficit, as the Republicans have voted on and passed. This body should not spend enough money to double the national debt by the year 2021, which every Republican except for four has voted for.

Let's get to work, Mr. Speaker. This is all fun and games, but the country is burning while we continue to work to solve this issue and avoid the hard ones.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask my friend from South Carolina if he has any remaining speakers.

You know, Mr. Speaker, sometimes it seems like we're arguing about a different bill in this Chamber. Many of those who have spoken on the other side have risen to attack government spending; and yet they voted for a budget with a $5.1 trillion deficit over a 10-year period, a bigger deficit than this Nation has ever had. Many of them also voted to spend $915 billion December 17th on their Christmas shopping spree, all deficit spending. And now they're complaining about a deficit that their votes caused.

Let me assure you of something, Mr. Speaker. This Nation pays its bills. Families across America pay their bills. When families spend too much on Christmas gifts, the answer is not to not pay your credit card bill in January. The answer is to cut back on spending. That's what families across America know. That's what this Congress needs to know. That's common sense.

Every Republican in this body, except for four, voted for a budget that called for specifically raising the debt ceiling from $14.3 trillion to $23.1 trillion. The House Republican budget voted to double the national debt over the next 10 years.

We can and we must do better, Mr. Speaker. Let's get past these games and begin a real discussion about reining in the national deficit and starting to pay down our national debt.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I want to quote from an article in The Hill. My friend and colleague Mr. Mulvaney from South Carolina said that this entire procedure ``is just a fig leaf for some Republicans to say they are against more debt, even though they essentially approved it.''

That's what we know this to be. This money has been spent. It's out the door. My colleague, Mr. Mulvaney from South Carolina, agrees and has put it into the Record. Even the budget from the Republican Study Committee, which the gentleman cited, calls for specifically raising the debt ceiling by $5.6 trillion, increasing the national debt by a third. That's not the answer.

The President has led the way through the creation of the Simpson- Bowles Commission and their hard, bipartisan work to come up with a way to reduce the national deficit. The Republican Study Committee budget, the Paul Ryan budget, all of the budgets that the Republicans brought before the House increase the deficit substantially, more so than any Congress has in the history of this entire country.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Well, the gentleman from South Carolina didn't give me a chance to answer the question that he posed to me. He said, what's rich and what's fair?

What I and many others have proposed is that people making over $1 million a year in income is who we're talking about, not people with a net worth of 2 or 3 million or less, but people who have an income, make $1 million or more a year in income, and the tax rate would go from 35 to 39.6 percent, a 4\1/2\ percent increase. That's what we're talking about as part of a comprehensive package. That's in the bipartisan Bowles-Simpson package, that's in the bipartisan Gang of Six package. That's some of the revenue that, along with cuts and entitlement reform, are part of the solution to this issue.

Rather than bellyaching and complaining about having to do what Republicans themselves have said they

were going to do in the Ryan budget and the Republican Study Group budget that's doubled the deficit--Republicans committed to doubling the deficit. I didn't support that. I voted against those bills. But Republicans promised to double the deficit. I opposed that. But here they are, now that they're doing the spending that they did, their massive spending spree in December, their budget that doubles the size of the national deficit, and here they are bellyaching, after spending all that money, that they don't want to pay the bill.

Well, that's immature, Mr. Speaker. Let's rein in the spending, rather than not make good on the full faith and credit of the United States of America.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Well, finally, Mr. Speaker, we have some bipartisan agreement. My colleague from Louisiana called this vote a sham. My colleague from South Carolina called this a fig leaf to disguise excess Republican spending. I think we have agreement on those basic concepts. Whether you call this a sham or a fig leaf, this bill, this process that the Republicans have put before us doesn't do a thing to solve the deficit, doesn't do a thing to rein in the national debt. It only perpetuates this Congress' addiction to spending, Mr. Speaker.

By somehow pretending to say that we're doing something by making a fuss over whether we're going to make good on the full faith and credit of what we've already spent, rather than just not spend it in the first place, Mr. Speaker, we're misleading the American public into thinking that this Congress is tackling the national debt and the deficit, when all we're doing, as my friend from Louisiana said, is simply a sham.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I am prepared to close as well. I ask the Speaker how much time remains.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, Americans are urging both parties, Republicans and Democrats, to work together to solve the basic challenges that this country faces, joblessness, a tax code that rewards those with well- connected lobbyists rather than hardworking Americans, and yes, to solve the budget deficit and budget crisis and ensure that we don't leave a legacy of debt for our children.

And yet, we will deal with none of these issues today, none of these issues in the 2 days the Republican majority has scheduled us to work this week, amidst the biggest national recession since the Great Depression. And each time that President Obama and Democrats have sought consensus on these issues, the majority have bowed to radical elements within their party that insist on an agenda that is far outside the American mainstream and will lead to doubling the national debt over the next 10 years.

Time and time again, we've seen the Republicans choose gridlock over problem solving. We saw this most recently when the House Republicans refused to allow a vote on the bipartisan compromise to extend the payroll tax break.

You know, the American people are tired of political games. They want action rather than rhetoric; they want progress rather than partisanship. And with today's move, the Republicans are again playing the dangerous game of signaling to the world that America might not pay its debt, might not make good on the very money that the Republicans voted to spend in December.

At a time when Standard & Poor's has moved to downgrade nine European countries' ratings, the last thing our Nation can afford is a risk of default. If we are further downgraded, Mr. Speaker, it would likely lead to an increase in the rate that we have to pay to finance our national debt. This would, in fact, increase the national debt even more than the Republicans want to increase the national debt--by $5.1 trillion.

Yes, that very same Paul Ryan budget that ends Medicare as we know it and has $5.1 trillion of deficit spending could have $10 trillion or $20 trillion of deficit spending if the Republicans succeed in jeopardizing our credit rating by playing games with the full faith and credit of the United States of America.

Like millions of responsible Americans, our Nation knows that we must make good on our obligations. Every minute that we waste debating this--I'll use what the other side has called it--debating this sham, the gentleman from Louisiana, this fig leaf, the gentleman from South Carolina, every minute we waste debating this underlying rule and bill is a minute that could have been spent enacting practical, substantial legislation to end the budget deficit, to right the fiscal course of this Nation, and put our country back on the road to economic recovery.

I strongly urge a ``no'' vote on the rule and the underlying bill.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Madam Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 515 and as the designee of the majority leader, I have a motion at the desk.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the subject of the resolution under consideration.

Madam Speaker, I rise today as the proud primary sponsor of the subject resolution that is before the desk.

Madam Speaker, I'd like to start my conversation with a few numbers: $15.2 trillion. That is the size of our national debt. We as a Nation are borrowing at the rate of $58,000 per second. That is approximately $45,000 for each man, woman, and child in America. This type of debt is not sustainable.

Madam Speaker, this resolution is offered today to send a message to the Nation and to the world that this Chamber is going to lead and not hide. We are going to deal with the issue of the national debt once and for all because it is time. The path that we are on is not sustainable. It is a path of bankruptcy, it is a path that will destroy the American Dream if we do not stand up to the plate and lead us out of this fiscal nightmare that we now find ourselves in.

Now, many people in this town and in this Chamber and in the Chamber on the other side of the Capitol probably would like this issue to go away until after the election. The problem is, is that the issue will not go away. And even though if we don't want to deal with it politically, we need to deal with it substantively. And my resolution that is before this Chamber will send a message that the constant borrowing on the backs of our children and our grandchildren must come to an end.

I quote the words of our own President when he was Senator in the U.S. Senate. The path that we are on is similar to the words he echoed and stated in the U.S. Senate Chamber when he said this constant borrowing, this national debt is a complete failure of leadership in the White House. We need to lead, and that is what we are going to do.

So I ask for support on this resolution from all of my colleagues, to stand with us, make the hard decisions, deal with this issue to stop this insanity that is truly a threat to our very Nation. And also, it is a threat to any economic recovery that our Nation hopes to enjoy in the short term, because if we do not get the debt under control, small business America, our entrepreneurs, the people that are going to put Americans back to work will not have the confidence or the certainty to invest in the American market that is going to lead to real jobs and to deal with the problem of our unemployment once and for all.

So with that, Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, what I would like to say is that time has passed since we passed the Balanced Budget Control Act. There has been no action on the debt. We have seen nothing out of the White House as to a plan to deal with this national crisis. And my colleague on the other side, I will remind, that I am a conferee on that conference committee to deal with the payroll tax rates, to deal with unemployment, and to deal with the doc fix.

We were here at the end of December. I was here over the New Year's break, Thursday, Friday, working on it. We are ready to do the work. And I'm glad to hear my colleague on the other side of the aisle say that now the House Democrats are here to do the work. We do need the Senate to join into that conversation, and my hope is that they will join into that conversation very soon.

But we are capable men and women in this Chamber, Madam Speaker. I am confident that we can walk and chew gum at the same time. We will deal with the issue of the payroll tax rate. We will deal with the issue of the unemployment. We will deal with the issue of the doc fix. But we will not take our eye off of what is becoming one of the fundamental issues of our generation, and that is our national debt. And that's what this resolution speaks to and will constantly remind all of us that we need to be diligent on this issue to get it taken care of once and for all.

And with that, I would like to yield 3 minutes to my colleague from Colorado (Mr. Lamborn).

Madam Speaker, I am happy to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Paul).

(Mr. PAUL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

I yield the gentleman another 30 seconds.

Madam Speaker, I am happy to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Rooney).

I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Manzullo).

I'd just like to remind my colleagues on the other side of the aisle that last time we took a vote on this issue back on the Budget Control Act in August was a much different time than today. Since August, we've been waiting for a plan from the other side to deal with our national debt. We've been waiting for a plan from the White House to deal with our national debt. Nothing has occurred.

So, Madam Speaker, there is no repudiation of our vote from August. This is consistent with what the American people are telling us, that we have to get our act together in Washington.

I join my colleagues on the other side. My hand is open to work hand in hand to deal with these problems once and for all. I'm willing to sacrifice my political life to do what needs to be done for the American people. I just hope my friends and colleagues on the other side of the aisle will join in that same sentiment.

Let's put politics aside. Let's deal with the substance of the day. Let's deal with this underlying national crisis that is represented in our national debt. You have many friends over here that are looking to reach out hand to hand, join arm in arm to deal with this problem and deal with the economy of our Nation once and for all. I just ask you to jump and join us rather than fight us.

With that, I'm happy to yield to my colleague from Arizona (Mr. Flake) for 2 minutes.

Madam Speaker, I would just like to remind my colleague on the other side of the aisle that when you get a credit card bill that you can no longer afford, you do pay it, but you cut it up, and you stop the spending so you don't exacerbate the problem.

With that, I would like to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey).

I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn).

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise).

Madam Speaker, I would just remind the gentleman that what we have done on our side of the aisle is at least we have put a plan in writing by adopting and approving the budget. We're just looking. In the last 7 months we've been waiting for a plan in black and white from the White House on how we are going to get out of this national debt crisis. Not political speeches, but in black and white so that we can take it back to the American people and have an open and honest debate with them as to where we're going to prioritize our spending and how we're going to get out of this hole.

That's what we're looking for, and that's what my colleague from Arizona (Mr. Flake) is talking about. We are at the point on this side of the aisle, ladies and gentlemen, of saying we don't care who's at fault. I'm at the point--Democrat, Republican, we're at $15.2 trillion, whoever is responsible for it, I could care less.

What I care about are my kids--and my grandkids, who aren't even born, who aren't even on the face of this Earth--and getting our act together in Washington and getting a national plan put together so we can join arm in arm and stand with each other to deal with this issue.

With that, Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Huelskamp).

Madam Speaker, I would like to say to Mr. Hoyer that I have a tremendous amount of respect for him as a Member of this body. And I have joined him to support the ``Go Big'' effort.

And what I would say is, by this resolution, look at what we have done on our side of the aisle. We have brought this conversation out of the back rooms. We have brought the ideas and proposals that we've heard from Mr. Blumenauer from Oregon, I believe, who talked about comprehensive tax reform, agriculture reform on the floor of this House, in front of the American people, in an open and honest manner. And what we have done on our side of the aisle is to stress that these conversations will no longer happen behind closed doors, but they will happen on the floor of this Chamber. And I'm confident, I am confident that when we come together like we are, like the foundation that we are setting in our conversations, that we are going to solve this problem. But until that solution is enacted, I will get up every day as a Member of this House to champion the cause of getting the fiscal house of Washington, DC in order, to get our reckless spending under control, and get this economy going.

I yield to the gentleman from Maryland.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Palazzo).

Madam Speaker, I'm happy to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Buerkle).

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. DesJarlais).

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Ross).

I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentleman from Florida.

We believe we have about three or four.

Madam Speaker, could I inquire as to the amount of time we have left?

Madam Speaker, at this time I am happy to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fitzpatrick).

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Kinzinger).

I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Amodei).

Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

I thank my colleague on the other side of the aisle, Mr. Levin, for engaging in this debate today that is so important, in my opinion, to the future of this Nation, to the future of the world, in the sense that we need to get this issue under control once and for all.

The national debt is a serious threat to our very existence as a nation. You don't have to take my word for it. You can take the word of the former joint chief of staff, Admiral Mullen, who, when he was asked by the President what is the biggest threat to our national security, responded: Not a military threat, but the national debt. A fiscal threat is what jeopardizes us most in regards to our national security.

When I hear that type of opinion and advice coming out of our military leaders, I am very concerned. It should send a message across the nation that this debt needs to be addressed. It doesn't necessarily just need to be addressed for the purposes of the threat it represents to our national security, but also the threat that it represents to the economic recovery that we are trying to kindle in this city across America.

The national debt represents a threat to that American recovery when it comes to putting our men and women back to work because it is the cancer that is causing concern across all of small-business America and all across the private sector when they express that they don't have the confidence or certainty that Washington will take care of the problems that threaten us most. So it is time that we come up with a hard plan.

My colleagues during this debate referenced the House budget as the plan that was adopted here, that somehow by voting for this resolution we contradict ourselves because we voted for that House budget because it called for an increase in the debt ceiling. I would remind my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, that budget only passed this House. The Senate has yet to enact a budget.

It will soon be 1,000 days that the Senate of the United States of America has not passed a budget. If we don't have a U.S. House and a U.S. Senate committed budget that we can rely upon to solve this issue, how can we only rely on the House budget to see us through?

This resolution today sends a message to the Senate and to the Nation that the House of Representatives will remain committed to finding a solution on this issue.

The second threat that it represents to our American recovery and putting men and women back to work is if our interest rates in the private sector, which are keyed upon the national debt and the interest rates that are charged for our borrowing costs as a governmental entity, if those interest rates in the private sector increase, you're not going to have the capital to invest in small-business America or in the private sector that is going to lead us out of this economic turmoil that we find ourselves in, because they won't be able to afford that capital that will build the next plant, that will build the next assembly line or build the next retail operation that will put people back to work.

The bottom line is this debt touches everything across America. What we are doing with this resolution is saying we are going to deal with it, and we are going to continue to deal with it until we get a plan in place from the White House, from the U.S. Senate, and from the U.S. House that deals with it once and for all and brings certainty and competence back to the American market.

Madam Speaker, it is time to lead this Nation, not hide. It is time to put our ideas in writing, debate them with the American people in an open and honest fashion, and once and for all even be willing to sacrifice our political lives to do what is right for the American people. I am committed to doing that if it means that we will save my children's generation and the generations yet to come. That's what needs to be done.

That's what needs to be done, and I think my colleagues on the other side of the aisle know that. We know it on our side of the aisle, and our hand is open to work in a bipartisan fashion. So I am glad that I heard many comments today on the other side of the aisle showing they are committed to that also. I am confident that when we join hands, when we come together, we will solve this issue and that we will solve the economic problems we face as a Nation, because together the history of our Nation has shown that we can overcome any obstacle in America, any threat to our existence once we unite, not divide, and put forth a commonsense solution to our problems.

With that, Madam Speaker, I ask all of my colleagues to support this resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Madam Speaker, according to a new poll by The Washington Post and ABC News, 84 percent of Americans disapprove of the way Congress is doing its job. I don't know that the other 16 percent are paying attention, because we're not doing our job well. And this certainly is not doing our job well. The reason it is not doing our job well is because it is a pretense, a sham. This legislation is to pay bills that we've already incurred. Whether, as the gentleman said, it was incurred with your votes or whether it was incurred with our votes, we have incurred those expenses. This is about whether America is going to pay its bills. Nothing more, nothing less.

Now, the previous gentleman said nobody had done anything about the debt. In point of fact, we did do something about the debt. We put revenue at levels commensurate with our spending. As a result, in 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000 and 2001--in 1997 we brought the deficit down to $25 billion, and for the next 4 years, we had a surplus. Now a couple of those years were not real surpluses because we counted on Social Security revenue. But two of those years were real surpluses.

This is about whether we pay our bills that we have incurred. Not doing this would be irresponsible, and would lead, I think, to further disrespect by the public, and properly so. One of the reasons for this feeling by the public is that Americans are tired of political games. This is a political game. This is a game that will say, see, I voted against debt.

Now, let me tell you how you can vote against debt. When you cut taxes in 2001 and 2003--and I agree with my friend, it's not about blame. It is about learning, however. When we cut taxes in 2001 and 2003 under George Bush, we didn't pay for them. We pretended they would pay for themselves. They didn't. Alan Greenspan says they won't. We ought to learn from that.

Learning from that, we ought to say yes, we'll pay our debts. The President doesn't want this money. It's not for the President; it's for bills that we incurred in fighting two wars, in giving tax cuts primarily to the wealthiest in America, to passing a prescription drug program that frankly all of us now support, but we didn't pay for it. And as a result, we got deeply into debt. And we have to get out of that debt, and we have to show courage, wisdom, and hopefully intellectual honesty in getting to that.

The American public is tired of seeing Republicans spending time on votes simply because of electoral positioning. And, frankly, they'd be tired of us doing the same thing. But that's all this is. It's so we can say: Look what we voted for. This is not our debt, we voted against it. But that's not responsible, and it's not honest. And I think most of you know that.

The resolution before us today is simply another waste of time. More than that, it undermines confidence here and around the world. Some of that debt, of course, we owe to people around the world. It is the essence of political gamesmanship, and does nothing to reduce the debt or create jobs. And we spend a whole day on it. As a matter of fact, this is the only full day we are going to spend in January debating any issue.

Americans know that we ought to pay our bills. They know we reached a deal in August that said both parties will work together to address our deficits in a way that will provide certainty to our businesses, markets, and families around the dinner table.

Agreeing to this resolution would only provide more uncertainty at a time when our people need to see us working together on a big, balanced deal to meet our fiscal challenges. My friend and I are both for that effort. I am very much for that effort. But I don't pretend that not paying the bills that we have incurred is going to solve that problem. The only thing that's going to solve that problem is we're going to ask everybody to contribute their fair share. Yes, we're going to have to make some cuts. And we're going to have to make some cuts that neither side will like, and we're going to have to raise revenues that neither side will like.

But I will tell my friend who is waiting for his grandchildren, I have three grandchildren now, and I have two great grandchildren, and he's right; they are the ones who are going to have to pay this bill.

And I saw my young friend, a new Member from South Carolina, and I can't recall his name right this second.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I saw my young friend passionate about not passing these bills along to his children. I thought to myself, I could give that speech. But, very frankly, I voted against cutting taxes without paying for them. I voted against the AMT without paying for it. We paid for it when we set the AMT. I think it needs to be fixed, and we paid for it.

I will vote ``no'' on this resolution, which comes as no surprise after you've heard me talk, and I strongly encourage my colleagues to do the same. Why? America is disheartened because they do not believe we are honest in dealing with them. They believe we play political games. They believe that we are not addressing the issues they know are of importance and they know do not have easy, simplistic answers.

I hope Democrats who vote ``no'' are joined by a large number of Republicans, not because you like debt, not because any of us like debt. And, very frankly, I voted for the Clinton revenue increases in 1993, and the prediction on your side of the aisle was that it would destroy the economy, unemployment would spike, and the deficit would explode. None of that happened. You were wrong. All of us are wrong from time to time. Dead wrong.

As a matter of fact, we enjoyed the best economy I have seen in my adult life in the 1990s. And we have seen the worst recession in my life after pursuing the Bush policies for 8 years. Yes, we were in charge for the last 2, but we couldn't change policies because the President had the veto and a majority of the votes to sustain that veto on this floor.

So ladies and gentlemen, let's be honest with the American people. We've all incurred a debt. We all spent the money. We drove on the roads, we were defended abroad, we invested in health care, research. We all incurred these debts. We know we need to solve it. We know that medicine will be tough. But honesty will make it easier, honesty between ourselves, honesty with the American people, and honesty, integrity and courage.

I hear around this country talk about Greece has a real problem. They are 128 percent, I think, in debt; we're only at about 100 percent. If you count our internal debt, it's less than that. But the problem that Greece has is they don't have the resources to solve their problem. America, the good news for us is we have the resources to solve our problems if we have the courage and political will to do so. This vote is a small token of showing that we have the courage, the wisdom and the political will to do so.

We need to pay our bills. Vote ``no'' on this resolution. Show the American people that we have courage, that we have wisdom, and we can have the political will to make America the continuing strongest country on the face of the Earth.

Will the gentleman yield?

I thank the gentleman for his comments. And I want to thank him for his participation in addressing this issue. And frankly, in my opinion, he was one of the 100 signatories that we had saying let's get a big deal, we have to get a handle on this debt. I want to thank him. But I want to assure him as well, I've been here just a little longer than he has, this debate

has been going on for some period of time. This is not a new debate. With all due respect, it's been on this floor--I've been raising this issue for some 20 years, very frankly, others have as well on both sides of the aisle. The debate has been going on, but as I said, we need to summon the courage and political will to not just debate it, but to address it and address it effectively. And I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 515 and ask for its immediate consideration.

For the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Polis), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only.

General Leave

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.

The Budget Control Act of 2011, which was enacted into law on August 2, 2011, authorized increases in the administration's borrowing authority subject to a joint resolution of disapproval. The law provides for consideration of a joint resolution of disapproval with 2 hours of debate. Amendments to the joint resolution are not permitted under the law. H. Res. 515 allows the House to consider the resolution of disapproval in the House today, rather than tomorrow, as currently contemplated in the law. Simply put, we are moving up its consideration by 1 day to better accommodate the House floor schedule.

I rise today in support of this rule and the underlying resolution. Mr. Speaker, I stand before you posing two very, very important questions. The first is an issue of scale.

Where I come from in North Charleston, South Carolina, we have a little trouble digesting exactly what $1.2 trillion really means. To help get my own head around the number $1.2 trillion, I did a little factfinding. A last-minute flight from Charleston, South Carolina, to Washington, D.C., is about $1,100. You could fly back and forth every single day for the next 3 million years in order to spend $1.2 trillion. I'm not sure about anyone else in the Chamber, but there aren't too many things I'm planning to do for the next 3 million years.

Now that we have a little perspective on what $1.2 trillion really means, the second question is a simple one: Why is it so hard to say we can't afford it? It's a simple question. Why is it so hard to say that we can't afford another $1.2 trillion of debt?

I asked the same question on my Facebook. Here are two responses to the question:

What's not to understand? Just cut the darned budget just like the rest of us have to do.

We the people, on an individual level, have got to demand less government. It's called courage, the courage to just say ``no.''

So, Mr. Speaker, it's bad enough that through the national health care bill, the Democrats raised taxes on the middle class by $500 billion and then they raised another half a trillion dollars for Medicare, but now they want to borrow $1.2 trillion. From whom--it's a good question--from whom? Unborn Americans, unborn Americans and foreign nations in order to continue borrowing 42 cents on every dollar to spend in 2012.

It's just not right, Mr. Speaker. The American people will not stand for the blank check culture of the past and I, for one, stand with the American people.

Once again, Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this rule and the underlying legislation. I encourage my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this rule and ``yes'' on the underlying bill.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I find it quite interesting to hear Mr. Polis, who sounds like a good Republican over there, I must concede, sounds like a good Republican over there talking about excessive spending.

But here's the question, the Democratic-controlled Senate hadn't passed the budget, next Tuesday, in a thousand days, and it's laughable that someone on the left would talk about deficit spending since the three records on deficit spending have occurred in the last three cycles, FY 2009 a $1.4 trillion deficit and FY 2010, $1.294 trillion deficit. Under President Obama in 2011, a 1.299--let's just round it to $1.3 trillion in deficit spending.

No, sir, but I yield 3 minutes to my good friend from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson).

Mr. Speaker, one of the comments by my good friend, Mr. Polis from Colorado, was that Republicans were trying to end Medicare. That's a laughable comment. As a matter of fact, it is so laughable that hot off the press, the PolitiFact, which finds out whether or not there is truth or not in words: The political lie of the year is that Republicans voted to end Medicare. PolitiFact just named the political lie of the year the comment that Republicans voted to end Medicare.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Duncan).

I do remember that the Paul Ryan budget came in at a number of $1.19 trillion in overall spending for the annual year. If you're talking about the 10-year impact of the Paul Ryan budget--

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Sullivan).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia, Mr. Tom Graves.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois, Mr. Randy Hultgren.

Yes, sir. I suppose I have four or five.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana, Mr. Dan Burton.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Mulvaney).

I yield the gentleman from South Carolina an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina, Mr. Trey Gowdy.

I yield the gentleman another 30 seconds.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Fleming).

I yield the gentleman another 20 seconds.

Mr. Speaker, we're prepared to close.

Hypocrisy is nothing new in the House of Congress, unfortunately, and even in this House.

My good friend from Colorado talks about what we're doing on the right-hand side. There's no question, however, that Mr. Polis himself voted for the Democratic Caucus budget proposed by Mr. Van Hollen, which would have increased spending by $4.5 trillion more than the Ryan budget.

There is only one way to reduce the debt at that level of spending, and that's higher and higher taxes on the middle class. It's bad enough that, in one bill under the Democratic-controlled House, they increased taxes on the middle class by $500 billion and at the same time raided Social Security, men and women on a fixed income, by $500 billion--or a half a trillion dollars.

It's unfortunate that not only were they increasing taxes, but they specifically targeted the middle class, creating a new 3.8 percent surtax on investment income on folks who have a middle class income.

It is very unfortunate that the President went a step further than even the Democratic Caucus budget. He increased spending by $6.2 trillion more than the Ryan budget.

So everything we hear on the left right now about the spending and the debt, we need to frame it in the real conversation around what the left has already done under the Pelosi House $1.4 trillion annual deficit.

In addition to that, we need to think to ourselves and ask the question, do we need $49 trillion of spending over the next 10 years that's been proposed by some on the left? Can we afford taking our national debt from $16.3 trillion, $16.4 trillion with this credit card extension into the $27 billion range at

the end of this decade? The answer is obviously ``no.'' But the hypocrisy is just business as usual from the left.

Mr. Speaker, today's vote is very clear. You either stand for reducing spending here in Washington or you don't. It is as simple as that.

I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

You know, there's a very basic fact--I've listened to the rhetoric-- if House Republicans prevailed on this bill, what would be the result? Chaos. Chaos.

The House Republicans have become the ``party of chaos.'' Six months ago, they took us to the brink of default. No one in this country liked what they saw--or maybe a very few--not the American public at large, surely not the markets, surely not the markets. But apparently House Republicans did, and you're at it again.

Here we are in the first full day in the House when we're in session this year debating a measure that would take us immediately back to the brink of default. House Republicans are once again relying on the votes of others to save them from themselves and to save this country from them.

This is posturing, not legislating. This is rhetoric, not reelection. And we've seen this movie before. 174 House Republicans voted for the Budget Control Act that set out the structure to keep the government functioning and address our long-term debt, but many decided to turn tail. And on September 14, 228 House Republicans voted in favor of the disapproval resolution to end the President's authority to pay our bills. That is what's fiscally responsible, paying bills.

Basically, they were for it before they were against it. It's a rerun of a bad movie when the American people clearly want us to move forward. And unfortunately, House Republicans have turned to Washington with the same confrontational tone they left when they nearly allowed the payroll tax and the unemployment insurance to expire. And I want to emphasize that, the same confrontation; instead of a spirit of seeking common ground, essentially confrontation. And I think the American people have said to you, enough is more than enough.

House Republicans act as if they don't already have a deadline looming, one with vast implications for millions of American families. That's what we should be talking about. In 6 weeks, the payroll tax cut expires for 160 million Americans, Federal unemployment insurance begins to end for more than 3 million people searching for work, and access to health care becomes endangered for 46 million seniors and the disabled.

Well, last month's jobs numbers were encouraging. The private sector created more than 200,000 jobs in December and nearly 3 million since the recovery began. But with 13 million Americans still looking for work, we need to do more. We should be doing everything possible, everything possible to ensure that our recovery doesn't falter. And you are here supporting something, if it prevailed, that would deeply impact our economy and economic growth.

So here we are in the third week of January. And now we have a conference committee on these issues, charged with the payroll tax cut and unemployment insurance. But that hasn't yet happened, not for a lack of wanting on our part. We've been ready and eager to begin. Businesses and families that are trying to plan and budget for the year should not have to wait until the 11th hour, once again, for certainty. For Republicans, brinkmanship has, I'm afraid, as demonstrated today, become the rule.

So I urge we should reject this cynical, this rigidly ideological attempt to take us back to the brink of default. If you prevail, it wouldn't take us back to the brink; it would throw us over.

The resolution, fortunately, is going nowhere. Its only impact will serve to divide and distract from addressing the real needs of the American people. So I assume--it's happened once before--a majority, and maybe a vast majority, of the House Republicans will come down here and essentially contradict what they helped to pass. That contradiction isn't even good politics, and it's terrible policy.

I reserve the balance of my time.

It's now my pleasure to yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz).

It's now my privilege to yield 3 minutes to the very distinguished senior member of our committee, Mr. Charles Rangel of New York.

(Mr. RANGEL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Madam Speaker, it is my privilege to yield 3 minutes to another distinguished member of our committee, the gentleman from the State of New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell).

You know, I was looking over the vote from the 1st of August, and it's interesting to see and hear people coming forth who voted ``aye'' on August 1 and now essentially want to repudiate that.

I now yield 3 minutes to another very distinguished active member of our committee, James McDermott, Dr. McDermott, from the snowy State of Washington.

I yield myself 15 seconds.

Mr. Flake, the problem is, if you prevailed, you'd create an abyss.

Madam Speaker, I now yield 2 minutes to the very distinguished gentleman from Georgia, another active member of our committee, Mr. Lewis.

It is now my privilege to yield 3 minutes to another distinguished member of our committee, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Neal).

I yield 3 minutes to another distinguished member of our committee, the gentleman from the great State of Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer).

I yield 3 minutes to a former active member of our committee, the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Yarmuth).

Madam Speaker, it is now my privilege to yield 5 minutes to our distinguished whip, Mr. Hoyer from the great State of Maryland.

I yield the gentleman an additional 3 minutes.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself 15 seconds.

Mr. Reed, Mr. Hoyer mentioned this. You know, on Ways and Means for years, once the Republicans gained the majority, we protested they weren't paying for anything. So this isn't a new issue. It isn't a new issue.

I now yield 5 minutes to the ranking member of the Budget Committee and a distinguished former member of the Ways and Means Committee, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Van Hollen).

I yield the gentleman from Maryland an additional 2 minutes.

I now yield 3 minutes to the very active gentleman from Vermont (Mr. Welch).

How many more speakers do you have, Mr. Reed?

Let me reserve so I don't have to do this each time until, Mr. Reed, you finish, and then I'll close and then you'll close.

I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

I yield myself such time as I shall consume.

It will take me just I think 30 seconds, maybe a minute.

You know, in a few words what the Republicans in the House are doing, they're playing with fire. And that's reckless. They know that others will put out the fire. And we'll vote, many of us, to do that today. And if we don't succeed, the Senate will do so.

This, I think, is worse than a charade because it really assumes that the agenda of this Congress should essentially be a kind of a plaything.

A number of the people who came to speak for this resolution voted in August for the resolution that brings us here today, including, I think, Mr. Reed.

So I think what's changed is not our responsibility, but the ability of some to kind of have it both ways, to vote ``yes'' on the resolution knowing that as it goes to the Senate, this potential damage to the economy will be saved.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.